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William Lagesson

Carolina Hurricanes Sign William Lagesson

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The Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms with William Lagesson, who had hit the open market as a Group VI unrestricted free agent. The deal will be a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K in the NHL, $225K in the AHL, and includes a $275K minor league guarantee. General manager Don Waddell released a short statement on the deal:

Lagesson provides a strong, physical presence on the blue line. He has plenty of NHL and AHL games under his belt and adds to the experience of our defensive unit.

Now 26, Lagesson was a fourth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers back in 2014 and took a very interesting path to the NHL. After being picked out of the Swedish junior leagues, he played a year in the USHL and two in the NCAA before returning to the SHL in 2017-18. Two more seasons starting in the AHL and he was finally ready to make his debut with the Oilers, nearly six years after being picked.

Since then, he has played in 60 games at the NHL level, including three with the Montreal Canadiens after being part of the return for Brett Kulak earlier this year.

Now in Carolina, he’ll serve as useful depth and could even battle for a final roster spot depending on what happens with Ethan Bear, who has been in trade rumors for the past several weeks. While he likely won’t play in every game, Lagesson will probably get a chance to hit the ice at least a handful of times with the Hurricanes and show that he can handle himself at the highest level.

Free Agency Notes: Hague, Marchment, Kulak

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We haven’t heard a whole lot of offer sheet talk yet this offseason, but there is one young defenseman who could come into play. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger notes that he believes Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague is “a real possibility” as an offer sheet candidate from general managers league-wide. Hague is an important defenseman on the rise in the Golden Knights organization, and while he doesn’t have a lot of leverage on his next contract as he’s not arbitration-eligible, another team could indeed force Vegas’ hand. A second-round pick from their first 2017 draft class, Hague’s notched a solid 42 points in 142 NHL games over the past three years. While he’s been limited to third-pairing minutes on a deep Vegas team, he’s shown really solid play-driving ability as an up-and-coming two-way defenseman. With the Golden Knights’ tight salary cap situation, it’s a reasonable bet that they couldn’t match a healthy offer for Hague.

  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun expects the Montreal Canadiens to make an offer to bring back defenseman Brett Kulak when free agency opens tomorrow. They won’t be alone, though, as LeBrun notes that six other teams could be interested as well. Dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a package that included William Lagesson and a second-round pick at the trade deadline, Kulak is an underrated defensive commodity who’s extremely valuable in a bottom-four role. He’d spent the last three seasons prior to this year in a Habs uniform, and he was a steadying presence in 2021-22 on a struggling team.
  • If the Tampa Bay Lightning can’t come to terms with pending UFA Ondrej Palat, The Athletic’s Joe Smith lists Mason Marchment as someone the team could make an offer to in free agency. He’d certainly add a strong checking element to the team’s middle six, and while he likely wouldn’t replace Palat’s value entirely, he’d be a strong value option with a breakout year last season and great underlying metrics. Marchment finished 2021-22 with 47 points in just 54 games.

Snapshots: Heiskanen, Petry, McDonagh, Penguins

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The Stars could have defenseman Miro Heiskanen back as soon as Tuesday, relays Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News.  The 22-year-old is once again averaging nearly 25 minutes a night on the back end for Dallas while being a capable secondary contributor as well with 29 points in 52 games.  He has been out for more than three weeks due to a bout with mononucleosis and will be a welcome return to the Stars as they look to hold onto the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Canadiens announced that defenseman Jeff Petry is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The 34-year-old has had a tough season both in terms of his production (16 points in 57 games) and defensive play while the team wasn’t able to find a suitable trade for him at the deadline to honor his request to be moved.  William Lagesson will make his Montreal debut against Toronto tonight in Petry’s absence.
  • The Lightning will be without blueliner Ryan McDonagh indefinitely due to an upper-body injury, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The injury was sustained in the third period on Thursday against Boston when he blocked a shot.  Joe Smith of The Athletic adds that the injury shouldn’t cost McDonagh the rest of the season but that he’ll be out for a couple of weeks.  Tampa Bay has six other defensemen on the roster so they’re okay for now but if another blueliner goes down, it could be an issue as the team does not have any cap space to bring someone up from AHL Syracuse.
  • Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is set to be a game-time decision for tomorrow’s game against Detroit, notes Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The veteran was a late scratch last night due to an illness, one that kept him away from practice today as well.  Meanwhile, after leaving last night’s game after just 4:19, goaltender Casey DeSmith was cleared to skate today and is expected to be available for tomorrow’s contest.

Colton Sceviour Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Sceviour has cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.  He was assigned to the taxi squad with Lagesson being brought back to the active roster.

Friday: The Edmonton Oilers had to clear a roster spot for Evander Kane, who is expected to play tomorrow night against the Montreal Canadiens, so Colton Sceviour is the odd man out. Sceviour has been placed on waivers today by the team, while William Lagesson was also assigned to the taxi squad.

Sceviour, 32, played just 7:57 last night against the Nashville Predators, receiving just 12 shifts and none in the final six minutes of the third period. His role on the team had diminished throughout the season, and he’s now available to others for the low cost of a waiver claim.

Signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a cap hit of $750K at the NHL level, he could potentially be a nice fourth-line addition for teams dealing with injury problems or inconsistency from their depth players, as Sceviour does have more than 500 games of experience. In 30 games this year for Edmonton, he has five points and was a key penalty killer for the club, getting almost 20% of his ice time short-handed.

Edmonton Oilers Place Tyson Barrie On IR, Activate Zach Hyman From Protocol

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The Edmonton Oilers announced a flurry of roster moves Thursday night. Left wing Zach Hyman has come off COVID protocol, defenseman Tyson Barrie lands on injured reserve, defenseman William Lagesson comes to the active roster to replace him, and goalie Olivier Rodrigue comes up from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to the team’s taxi squad.

Hyman hasn’t played much in the last month or so due to injuries and COVID protocol, so his return to the lineup is much-anticipated. Through 32 games, the first-year Oiler has 11 goals and 20 assists for 21 points on the year. He’s one of four Oilers with ten goals, joining Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Barrie exits the lineup just as the team’s defense had returned to full health. While not the world-beating production he had last year, Barrie still has 17 points in 35 games, playing mostly in a shielded role more suited to his defensive weaknesses.

The Oilers will likely have Lagesson enter the lineup, but he’s been used sparingly this year. In just 10 games, the Swedish defenseman has two assists and is averaging a meager 11:31 per game.

Rodrigue, the team’s 62nd overall selection in 2018, has a .886 save percentage in 13 games with Bakersfield this year.

Smith Claimed, Lagesson Clears Waivers

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Jan 19: While Smith has been claimed by the Detroit Red Wings, Lagesson cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Oilers’ taxi squad.

Jan 18: The Edmonton Oilers have placed William Lagesson on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Gemel Smith of the Tampa Bay Lightning has also been placed on waivers as he nears a return from the injury that has kept him out through the first part of the season.

Lagesson, 25, played just 7:29 in the Oilers brutal third-period meltdown on Saturday night, and has gotten into just ten games this season overall. Waived at the start of the season, he cleared and spent a good chunk of the year in the minor leagues. A fourth-round pick in 2014, he has four points in 37 career NHL games, not exactly what would draw much attention from other teams.

Still, in the era of COVID-related absences, you never know who will be grabbed off waivers as an emergency replacement. Lagesson does carry a cap hit of just $725K, less than the league minimum salary and something that could be of interest to a cap-strapped contender.

Smith meanwhile hasn’t played at all this season, but his placement on waivers suggests that period on the sidelines could be coming to an end. The 27-year-old forward has cleared waivers several times in the past, including last January. It seems almost guaranteed that he will clear again, given he has just eight games (at any level) under his belt since the start of 2020-21.

Darnell Nurse Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have made official what Jason Gregor of TSN reported earlier today, Darnell Nurse is headed to injured reserve. Head coach Dave Tippett explained that Nurse suffered a “cracked finger” in overtime and will be out 2-3 weeks. The team has also moved Slater Koekkoek to injured reserve, who will be out 3-4 weeks. To replace them, Philip Broberg and William Lagesson have been recalled from the AHL. In a cap move, Mike Smith is now on long-term injured reserve, getting more tests done and is still week-to-week.

While Koekkoek’s exit from last night’s game was obvious, as he played just over three minutes, Nurse logged more than 31 in the win against the Winnipeg Jets. The team’s obvious No. 1, that’s already the sixth time this season that Nurse has recorded at least 27 minutes of ice time. An all-situations horse for the team, he had 11 points in his first 16 games and was showing that last season’s breakout was not a flash in the pan.

The Oilers rewarded Nurse with a huge eight-year, $74MM contract extension after his outstanding 2020-21 season, which saw him finish seventh in Norris Trophy voting after scoring 16 goals and 36 points in 56 games. Losing him now, right as the team appears to be taking the next step, is an absolute crushing blow to the group. Edmonton has won seven of their last ten games and sit alone in first place in the Pacific Division with a 12-4 record overall.

Now, not only will the team have to find someone to take those minutes, but it can’t even be Koekkoek moving up. Instead, it looks like Broberg, one of the team’s top prospects, may get his first chance at the NHL level. Drafted eighth overall in 2019, the 20-year-old defenseman can skate like the wind and has the size to compete at the NHL level, but some have critiqued his decision-making in the past. Those decisions will be even more important as he moves to the NHL after just 13 games in the minor leagues. Broberg had 10 points in those games with Bakersfield, after spending the last two seasons in the SHL.

After tomorrow night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers are set to hit the road for three matches next week. They aren’t in a particularly heavy part of the schedule though, with a three-day break after that road trip ends next Saturday, meaning they at least will be able to ease Broberg into the lineup with sufficient practice days. Still, it seems very unlikely that he or any other player on the roster will be able to have the impact that Nurse does, meaning they’ll have to find another way to lock down the defensive side of the puck over the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ethan Bear Activated Off Injured Reserve

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The Edmonton Oilers have shot up the North Division standings of late, winning their last four and passing every Canadian team not named the Maple Leafs. They’ve had all that success without the services of young defenseman Ethan Bear, who hasn’t played since January with a head injury. Bear was struck with the puck (while sitting on the bench) and has been on injured reserve for the last three weeks. That IR stint ended today as the Oilers activated him ahead of tonight’s match against the Vancouver Canucks.

Bear, 23, had an outstanding season in 2019-20, racking up 21 points in 71 games and actually finishing tenth in the Calder Trophy voting as the league’s best rookie. While this year wasn’t going quite as smoothly in the early going, he was still averaging more than 20 minutes a night for the Oilers as an efficient puck-moving option. His return will only strengthen a back end that has still allowed too many goals against, getting the puck quickly up to those all-world forwards.

To make room, the team has moved William Lagesson to injured reserve, likely retroactive to his last game on February 15. Even if he was healthy and playing, most Oilers fans would happily swap him out for Bear.

Lineup Notes: Dubois, Oilers, Blackhawks

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella stated that star center Pierre-Luc Dubois’ trade request would not be a distraction for he or the team this season. In just their third game of the season, that may already be proving untrue. In Monday’s matinee against the Detroit Red Wings, Dubois was seemingly benched for the second half of the second period. He saw just one short shift in the final seven minutes of the frame. When he did play in the second, Dubois also skated on a makeshift fourth line for several shifts. However, it was Dubois who scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period and his usage returned to normal the rest of the way. Speaking with the media following the game, Tortorella underplayed Dubois’ usage, stating “You’ll know when I bench someone, don’t try to manifest something…” Given how candid Tortorella has been about the Dubois situation and not letting it become a distraction, there is some believability to his postgame comments. Yet, there was also no reason for Dubois to play so little late in the second, leaving questions of whether there will be continued mind games between coach and player until the trade request is finaly honored.

  • With just two points through their first three games, the Edmonton Oilers are off to a bit of a slow start. Head coach Dave Tippett was honest in his criticism of the team’s play following a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and with the Habs up again on Monday night, he has made a major change to his defense group. Ethan Bear, one of just three Oilers to play in every game in 2019-20, will be made a healthy scratch. Bear received a specific shout out from his coach for some poor play on Saturday and will take a seat as a result. It is a bold move by Tippett to bench a young, play-driving defenseman who looks to be a major piece for the Oilers’ future, but he hopes the move will inspire some better defensive decisions from Bear moving forward. In the same vein of improving defensively, Caleb Jones will also be scratched on Monday. A young, offensive-minded blue liner like Bear, Jones’ -4 rating is worst among Edmonton defensemen so far. In their place, veteran Kris Russell will draw into the lineup as will rookie William Lagesson. Lagesson has just eight games of NHL experience, with sheltered minutes and zero points no less, but the organization likes his balanced approach to the position and has stated that he will be given more opportunity this season.
  • Through three games – and three losses – it doesn’t look like Collin Delia or Malcolm Subban are ready to be the starter for the Chicago Blackhawks. The pair have allowed 15 goals against for nearly identical 5.00 goals against averages as well as matching save percentages of .848. When Chicago declined to add a veteran goaltender this off-season, it was clear that there would be some growing pains, but this is as bad a start as could have been expected. Enter Kevin Lankinen. Whether this was truly the plan from the start or in response to these early poor results, head coach Jeremy Colliton told the media today that the plan is a to have as close to an even split as possible between Delia, Subban, and Lankinen, with the current taxi squad keeper getting an opportunity soon. Lankinen has yet to make an NHL appearance through two seasons in North America and had just pedestrian AHL numbers last year. However, his performance as an AHL rookie and certainly his play in Finland’s Liiga earlier in his career inspire some hope. It seems Blackhawks fans will get a chance sooner rather than later to see if Lankinen can be an upgrade to their current tandem this season of it will simply be a rotation of three below-average goaltenders.

William Lagesson Signs With Edmonton Oilers

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Nov 23: Lagesson has been reassigned from HC Vita Hasten to Kristianstads IK, another team in the Swedish second league. He is still expected to return at the start of NHL training camp.

Nov 4: The Edmonton Oilers have signed William Lagesson to a new two-year contract, which will be two-way in the 2020-21 season and one-way in 2021-22. The contract carries an average annual value of $725K at the NHL level. Lagesson had been playing with HC Vita Hasten in Sweden while he waited for a new deal with the Oilers and will remain there until the start of 2020-21.

It’s been a long and winding road for Lagesson, who was a fourth-round pick of the Oilers back in 2014. Selected out of Sweden, he immediately came to North America but not to sign with Edmonton. Instead, Lagesson played a season in the USHL for the Dubuque Fighting Saints, before heading to college at UMass Amherst.

After two seasons at the NCAA level and a pair of appearances at the World Junior Championship, Lagesson signed with the Oilers but still didn’t enter their development system. Instead, he went back to Sweden and played a season on loan with Djurgardens of the SHL. It was only 2018 when he finally came back to North America to play for the Oilers organization, suiting up for an entire season with the Bakersfield Condors. Last year, he was back with the Condors but also made his NHL debut, playing eight games with the Oilers.

Currently dominating the competition in Sweden’s second-tier—with nine points in eleven games—Lagesson seems poised and ready to compete for a full-time NHL roster spot when things resume for the upcoming season. Remember, the Oilers could be without Oscar Klefbom for a good chunk of, if not the whole season and don’t have a ton of experienced depth at the minor league level. In fact, with this move Lagesson becomes just the 13th defenseman in the entire organization signed to an NHL deal, and that includes several still on their entry-level contracts.

That number should increase by at least one in the coming week, as the Oilers still have Ethan Bear to sign. He is the final restricted free agent that needs a contract before the season starts and is coming off a breakout year in which he proved himself to be a top-four option for the team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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